ANYONE CAN SLIP THROUGH THE CRACKS – PEDOPHILE TEACHER HIRED WHILE UNDER SEXUAL ABUSE INVESTIGATION
April 3, 2014
Summary: Former teacher Ronald Guinto is facing life in prison for alleged sexual abuse of several children; however, he withheld information of his pending legal investigation from his next employer – who did not bother to conduct a background check – and he was hired on. Guinto had daily access to children for four months until arrested earlier this month.
We have made several mentions that background checks are a crucial part of the hiring process in our schools; along with conducting social media checks, the background check can identify red flags in an applicant’s record that would give the employer the conscious mind to shred their application. Apparently, background checks are an unnecessary formality for Mira Vista Elementary School in Richmond, CA, who in December hired Ronald Guinto. This would not be a problem, except for the simple fact that he was under investigation for sexually assaulting several children while teaching at the Making Waves Academy, also in Richmond – of course, a simple background check would have turned up that nugget of information. It goes without saying that had Guinto told the truth about the investigation instead of hiding it from Mira Vista, the school almost certainly would not have hired him. In total, Guinto had full access to seventh grade students for 89 days before his arrest earlier this month.
While Guinto was a teacher at Making Waves Academy, he solicited volunteers to take part in his ‘Camp Epic’ program that he started up while a Master’s student. It is on these trips that Guinto recruited and abused his victims, all while lying to their parents about the nature of their field trips. To put the range of abuse into context, Guinto faces 27 counts that range from allegations of kidnapping, forcible lewd acts on a child, sending lewd matter to minors on the internet, forcible oral copulation on a minor, forcible sodomy on a child, and dissuading victims and witnesses. Guinto’s bail is set at $17 million dollars, and is facing life in prison without the possibility of parole. One day would have been too many to allow Guinto to prey on innocent children, let alone 89 of them.
Embarrassing, horrific, tragedy, catastrophe, and failure – all of these words clearly apply to this situation; yet, they all fall short of quantifying just how tragic and dire this situation is. What this situation lacks for words to describe it, it makes up for with the sheer volume of fault to dole out, and people to dish it out to. Clearly, the majority of fault lies with Guinto; he is the deviant that used his position of authority and trust to isolate his victims and perform horrible abuses on them. Yet, the schools are also heavily to blame too.
- Mira Vista: Significant fault lies with both Mira Vista Elementary School and the West Contra Costa United School District (WCCUSD) for hiring Guinto. Further, they are at fault for not conducting a background check or a social media check on Guinto prior to hiring him, especially when it would have turned up that he was under a current investigation for sexual abuse. Instead, they relied on a background check conducted four years ago and his ‘good-standing’ on the substitute teacher list to ensure Guinto was vetted. They are also at fault for failing to protect the children placed in their trust.
Lastly, they are to blame for their response to the situation. When questioned, the school board would “look into” revisiting their protocols, and stated that they “[sic] could do a better job,” but stopped short of saying they were “irresponsible and reckless” in their hiring of Guinto…. news flash – your school hired a sexual predator! The school’s indifferent response should appall any parent following this story. The school’s was irresponsible by not thoroughly screening their hiring candidates; they were reckless as a result of their irresponsibility because they allowed a child molester in their doors; oh, by the way, he’s on PAID administrative leave. This seems to be the response of a school board that is complicit with Guinto’s activities, not one with their children’s security in mind.
- Making Waves Academy: To be clear, the abuses did not occur on the Making Waves campus, and they did fire Guinto when six children came forth with allegations of sexual abuse. They also reported it to the police. What they didn’t do was ensure that upon Guinto’s dismissal, that he be removed from any list that showed him as being in good standing.
Parents must know how to fill the void to protect their children when the institution won’t. One proactive way parents can take control is to educate their children – teaching them about inappropriate touching, telling them what to do when someone tries to touch them. Albeit reactive, a parent can bring a quicker end to abuse by knowing the warning signs and taking action. The school placed each of the children under their care at significant risk for three months while this predator roamed their halls; this risk to our children was too grave to consider this case lightly.
At Estey & Bomberger, we fight for victims of child molestation, while tirelessly working to hold institutions that fail to protect our children accountable.
[tagline_box link=”http://www.childmolestationvictim.com/about-the-attorneys/” title=”Steve Estey, Attorney at Law for Estey & Bomberger, LLP” description=”It is common sense that anyone working with children must, at a very minimum, undergo a criminal background check. Sexual predators gravitate towards places where children are present. Employers who are responsible for the care and safe keeping of children must recognize this and take steps to keep the predators away from our children.”][/tagline_box]
Sources:
Richmond teacher’s alleged sex abuse of students detailed in court document
Richmond teacher was hired during molest probe
Schoolteacher charged with sex crimes against children pleads not guilty
Teacher Accused Of Multiple Molestations At Richmond Elementary School
Mira Vista Elementary School (homepage)
Richmond: Teacher charged with abusing students planned unauthorized field trip
Richmond: Teacher’s arrest on sex abuse charges raises concerns about hiring practices